


Running

by Mishikaiya



Series: Commonwealth Constellations [2]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fluff, Hancock romance spoilers, Implied Relationships, Mild Language, Romance, mild main storyline spoilers, mild violence, reference to dead character, reference to past relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 06:30:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7497741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mishikaiya/pseuds/Mishikaiya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Orion and Hancock both have a past that they run from in their own ways. But their relationship has become grounds for reconsideration. 5 July 2016</p>
            </blockquote>





	Running

Orion’s skin tingled as her eyes adjusted to the fading sunlight. A long breath of air passed through her as she re-adjusted to the Commonwealth atmosphere. She turned around to see the ruins of the Commonwealth Institute of Technology behind her. She started off for Sanctuary. 

Hancock woke to Dogmeat’s excited barking and he made it outside to see Orion passing the guard towers. She greeted the shepherd, never breaking stride and when her eyes traveled up to see Hancock waiting for her, the corners of her lips drew back slightly into a small smile. As she passed him, he fell in stride with her, watching the pebbles skidding out of her way with every tired step. 

Keeping his voice low, he welcomed her, attempting to keep any worry at bay. “How are you feeling?” His eyes drifted to Dogmeat at Orion’s other side. “We were worried.”

Orion’s usual derisive snort barely carried any of its weight. “It’s been a long few days. Didn’t really sleep.” When they reached the steps to the newly finished treehouse, Orion said goodbye to Dogmeat before ascending the steps, Hancock behind her. His dark eyes followed her movements as she sat on her bed, pulling her boots and armor off.

Her fingers toyed with the edge of the mattress, head bowed. “I don’t even know where to start.”

He noted the slight crack in her voice. He sat in front of her, taking her fingers. “Anywhere you want.”

The two stayed like that for a while as Orion told him about Shaun, her son and the synth, the FEV lab, everything she could remember before she finally let herself lie down, fingers still tangled in Hancock’s own.

He squeezed them gently, “You should rest. You got nothing to worry about with me covering ya.”

Orion hummed her approval, before taking his advice while Hancock tucked her in. He moved himself to the couch a few feet away, and dropped onto his back. He pulled the tricorn from his head and placed it across his face before joining Orion in dreams. At the sound of her stirring, he moved to her side once more, convincing her to eat a little something before she drifted off again. Dawn made its approach and Hancock found he’d fallen asleep sitting against the bed frame. He recalled checking on her in the night while she tossed and turned and realized he had never left.

When the ghoul turned to see her face, he found her eyelids making their slow ascent. At recognition of his features, a smile touched her lips. “Mornin’,” she yawned, starting to sit up. “You up for traveling together?”

“You even gotta ask that? Damn right I am.”

“Great. There are some things I need to take care of and I sure could use your help,” she said, starting to lace her boots and donning the Courser coat - all business.

Hancock followed suit and got himself ready for the road, looking to Orion every now and then. There was something in the set of her shoulders, the crease across her brow, the apathy in her tone. He didn’t ask but he would keep an eye on her.

The pair took their time picking up Old Man Stockton’s message from the mailbox. A comfortable silence enveloped them on their trip and continued into Bunker Hill. Hancock reasoned she had talked so much the other day, she needed some silence to balance it all out. No use wasting words, although her faraway look was mildly troubling.

While Orion and Stockton spoke in code, Hancock pursed his lips, trying to keep a laugh to himself. They walked away, the sun barely past the horizon. Hancock expected a smack on his arm accompanied with him getting called an ass. He found nothing but dead air instead. His eyes searched Orion’s and when she noticed him, her only response was to look away. Hancock scowled but said nothing. There was still work to be done.

By the time they reached the church, night had fallen and fog enveloped the area. “Finally, some action,” Hancock smiled as the raiders behind the pews met his shotgun. Orion assisted in combat but didn’t perk up until afterwards when Stockton joined them, a skittish synth on his heels.

A gentle smile rested on her lips when she greeted H2-22. Hancock had been vigilant all day and he couldn’t take his eyes off her during the interaction. There seemed to be life returning to her after their tiresome walk. She was extremely attentive with the runaway synth.

Hancock almost sighed at the sight of her. This was the woman he’d met at the gates of Goodneighbor. Protector of the innocent. Savior of synths. Sure, she had her bad days like anyone else, but damn if she wasn’t resilient in the face of the Commonwealth. Hancock was beginning to understand why Orion had decided this was her path. She was practically spitting in their faces. Her son’s face. Even the Courser’s coat she looted from Greenetech Genetics on her shoulders was an insult. She had said it was a way to tell people not to fuck with her - either she was one of them or she’d definitely killed one. But Hancock saw it for what it was.

Soon Stockton left and another agent met them. As they left the church and followed High Rise to Ticonderoga, Orion’s eyes kept darting back to H2. She was on high alert. Hancock barely got any shots in when company met them - she was so thorough in dealing out their deaths - Orion’s sharp shooting skills paying off.

When they reached Ticonderoga, Orion marched everyone inside before she followed. Orion engaged H2 in conversation before wishing him and High Rise well. The change between the woman who had a solid grip on her rifle and the one with a hopeful smile for a synth was immediate. Hancock was sure then. He didn’t just idolize this woman who crawled out of a vault to a world gone to hell - who saw justice done when there was so little left - who held out a hand to those who needed it. He didn’t just idolize his closest friend. He was in love with her.

She had questioned their friendship in lieu of something more before, and the two had flirted outwardly. From touching to talking, the pair was nigh impossible to separate. It was only logical that they find themselves at this point. Hancock left Orion to finish attending H2 and he stepped outside into the fog. His eyes passed over the grooves and divots that marred his hands, a grimace settling over his face. ‘What if I’m wrong?’ he wondered.

He ran his thumb’s rough fingertip across the back of his other hand thinking of all the times Orion had done the same. Remarkably, he’d never shied away from contact with him before. Hancock couldn’t remember a time when she’d seemed put off by his appearance. If anything, she was more interested by it than repulsed. An image of his formerly smooth skin self flashed behind his eyes and his brow furrowed more. ‘No use thinkin’ about how she would’ve reacted to me then. Best to just talk to her.’

Orion stepped into the doorway, the tired look in her eyes she’d hidden from the synth present. Hancock nervously looked up at her. “Hey. You, uh, got a sec? I need you to hear something.”

She sighed, not wanting to get into something serious out in the open. “Is there any way we could talk about this later?”

Hancock nodded, “Yeah, of course. I’m not going anywhere.” He bit his tongue briefly, chastising himself for not waiting to bring it up at a better time. He’d gotten ahead of himself.

It seemed Orion was dragging her feet a bit on the way to the Railroad’s headquarters. She spoke with Dr. Carrington briefly before gesturing that they were headed back out. A strange silence followed them as Orion led the way to Goodneighbor.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Shaun. The Institute. Her anger. Her sadness. The Institute took Shaun and shaped him. For all he thought he knew about the Commonwealth, he didn’t really know the Commonwealth. There was truth - honesty - in the lives of the people on the surface. Orion admired them for it. And if a synth would risk their life to escape the Institute and have a chance at a life outside their walls, Orion would be damned if she didn’t help. After everything she’d been through, she couldn’t save Shaun after all. But she could save the synths.

Returning to Goodneighbor, Orion let her resolve replace the anger and excused herself into Daisy’s shop so she could change. Daisy naturally acquiesced to letting Orion utilize the privacy upstairs. She re-emerged in her vault suit and leather armor and sat at the bench pressed against the Old State House. She motioned Hancock to join her.  
Hancock spotted his cue and jumped right in, brave face on. “Hey, when you got time, I got something I still need you to hear.”

Orion let some worry colour her tone, “Is everything alright?”

“Oh yeah. Better than that,” Hancock admitted, his confidence returning. “This is just...tricky.” He paused briefly, then continued, “It’s just, being out here with you, it’s made me realize. Most of my life to this point I’ve been running out on the good things I got. I skipped out on my family, my life in Diamond City. Took up with you just to get outta Goodneighbor. Hell, running from myself is what made me into,” he grimaced, “into a damn Ghoul.” He looked reverently at Orion. “But being here with you, for the first time in my life, things have just felt,” he searched for the word, “right. And running, it’s the furthest thing from my mind.”

“I mean, I left Goodneighbor thinking I was gonna just sharpen up the ol’ killer instinct.” He gave a small smile at the thought. “But whether it’s fate or destiny or just goddamn coincidence, I ended up with someone like you. I turned one of the nastiest settlements in the Commonwealth into a refuge for the lost. I thought I’d done something I could hang my hat on. But being out here with you, it’s made me realize just how small time I’d been thinking. And that maybe all my running, from my life, myself...maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.”

Orion was well aware that her work with the Minutemen, the Railroad, and even the general population was unprecedented. It was her coping mechanism. For all she’d lost, she wanted to make sure these people never knew that kind of pain. An entire world gone. And she had all the time in the world to try an make it a reality.

She knew what it was to run. For her. But not for the ghoulish mayor sitting next to her. “Running from yourself? What do you mean?”

Hancock’s ruined lips held a small tint in the corner. “Well, I mean, I didn’t always look this good.” The smile faded. “The drug that did this to me, that made me a ghoul, I knew what it was going to do.”

Orion’s eyes softened with the revelation.

“I just couldn’t stand looking at the bastard I saw in the mirror anymore,” he shook his head. Hancock brought up the ghouls in Diamond City that died, the drifters under Vic’s reign. He called himself a coward for not helping them. “If I took it, I’d never have to look at him again. I could put that all behind me. I’d be free. Didn’t seem like a choice at all.” Hancock scowled at the memory. “Turns out it was just me running from somethin’ else in my life.”

“You may have run, but you always ran for a reason, Hancock,” Orion tried to reassure him.

A smile touched his lips. “Been trying to convince myself of that for a long time, but hearing that coming from someone like you…I don’t know if you understand what that means to me.” For a moment, he reconsidered his honesty with her. Here he was, in the comfort of his own town, baring his heart on a bench, right next to where they’d first met. But after all she’d been through, especially in the past few days, he wanted to step lightly around someone with history like hers and he held his tongue. “You have been one hell of a friend.”

Orion didn’t seem to miss a beat. She bowed her head slightly and looked up at Hancock, nervousness evident. “Have you ever thought about us as maybe more than just friends?” It had been difficult to define their relationship after their search for tea. But neither had seemed to question the change in their friendship. Orion had been too happy to care. She’d made her interest known and he had reciprocated. But now she was rethinking it all. She couldn’t imagine being with anyone but Hancock in the hell she found herself in. He was her safe place. She needed him to know she was committed. 

Hancock tried to brush it off. Act casual. “Heh. It that obvious? But come on,” he reasoned, “You don’t want to wake up to this mug every morning. Never wish that on anyone I cared for.”

“Who I fall for is my decision,” Orion countered. “And I’ve fallen for you.” She couldn’t bring herself to use the word love. It just wasn’t something she could bring herself to say out loud quite yet, despite its clear presence.

“Wouldn’t expect that kind of lapse in judgement from you. But I guess that works out for me then, doesn’t it?” he asked, earning himself a smile. He gave a small laugh. “Moments like this,” he started, eyes softening, “I know all that karma stuff is bull. Because no one like me should be this lucky.” His left hand reached for her right, tightening his grip for a moment, sure in his place at her side. “Come on, love. Let’s get this freakshow on the road.” He began to pull her up with him when he felt her pull back.

“One sec.” As he resettled, she pulled her fingers from his so she could twirl the gold band on her left hand’s fourth finger. Her eyes darted around before finding his.

Hancock’s attention had followed Orion’s to the ring, a small sickness starting in his stomach. ‘Don’t tell me she’s actually not interested in being together despite how we feel. Not that I’d blame her.’

Orion left the ring alone to search for something in one of her pockets. “I can’t - That is, there are certain things I can’t say,” her fingers fumbling as much as her tongue. When she found what she was looking for, she held it tightly, hidden in her fist, attention back on Hancock’s uncertain face. She reached across for his right hand, dropping the small object into his palm while keeping it covered. “Please, be patient with me.”

Hancock’s eyes widened at the feel of the cold metal.

“I want you to know, I’m committed to this. To us,” she said, pulling her hand away, leaving the ring exposed. “You don’t have to wear it,” she rushed as Hancock started to shake his head, “I just want you to have it. As a symbol of how I feel about you.”

“Orion,” he breathed. “Of course I’m gonna wear it.” He slipped it over his finger, finding that it somehow managed to fit. He put his hand on Orion’s cheek and pulled her face close to his, feeling her sigh. His thumb made a trail across her freckles. “I understand what this means to you. I’ll try to not worry too much about what you can’t say. This’ll be my reminder.” When he leaned in to kiss her, he felt the smile on her lips.

Before long, Orion pulled away and took Hancock with her off the bench. “Let’s get home. You look like you could use some rest.”

Orion sighed and a grateful smile marked her face. The sun would be making its ascent soon, ensuring that it would be at least mid afternoon by the time they returned. As they walked, Orion opened up about H2-22 and Hancock understood, vowing to help her with any missions the Railroad gave her. As much as she told, it still seemed there was something she was holding back.

There was a clumsiness to Orion’s steps coloured by her exhaustion. The pair found it difficult to walk at times - their hips and elbows kept colliding. Orion was crashing, the emotional weight of the Institute and her last mission compounding. She hadn’t quite finished recovering before embarking again. Her brain wasn’t processing much but one thing it knew for certain was that she needed Hancock. He was her only solid foundation.

The two could barely raise their knees enough to keep from scuffing their shoes by the time they reached Sanctuary. They dragged their feet up the treehouse steps before falling onto the bed. Hancock managed to coax Orion out of her armor and boots, and even managed to pull her hair loose from its “waste maiden” ponytail.

Her fingers wouldn’t stop entangling in his coat, his flag belt, keeping him close. She looked so vulnerable, weakly tugging at his heart strings. He moved away to shrug off his coat, and she gave a quiet whimper at the sudden loss of contact. It was as though she was fading in a way Hancock had never seen her do.

He gently reassured her. “Shhh, I’m not goin’ anywhere. Just gotta take care of this,” he said, kicking off his boots. Finally comfortable, he crawled into her bed. Their bed. She curled against him, burrowing as much as she could. 

Her tongue moved to the back of her throat. She swallowed hard and pressed her face against Hancock’s chest. The words came, “I don’t think Nate would be proud of what Shaun has become.” She choked back a sob. “I’m not.” Tears streamed down Orion’s face, the awaited breakdown finally claiming her.

Hancock secured his arms around her, making soothing shushing noises, stroking her hair. There were no words he could say and none she could hear that would help her. To this day, no living person had ever seen her in this state. Except Codsworth. An understanding came over Hancock. And he planned to be there whenever she needed someone to look after her.

Eventually, the tears stopped and her body finally relaxed. All energy and emotion spent.

“Better?” Hancock whispered into Orion’s hair.

“Mmm,” she hummed. “Thank you...for listening. And being here,” she added, entwining her fingers into the ruffles of his shirt. Guilt flashed across her features. “I didn’t mean to bring things down after-after what happened.”

“Tch. I’m happy to take the good with the rough.” Hancock’s hands came to rest on her back. “Anything for you, love.” He had watched her struggle since before she even left for the Institute. Her breakdown was inevitable and necessary.

Orion acquiesced, eyelids too heavy to stay up. Her slip into sleep was almost immediate and Hancock allowed himself to follow soon after, assured that Orion was on the mend.

Waking in the middle of the night, Orion seemed partly rested and definitely in better spirits. The pair stayed up until dawn. Talking. Touching. Laughing. Eventually their bodies insisted on returning to sleep but when they woke once more, the sun shining high, they found leaving the bed was practically impossible to vacate. Orion reasoned they could afford to take a day off and Hancock easily obliged to spending more time reveling in the evolution of their relationship.

**Author's Note:**

> A gracious thank you to my friend Baz for spending time with me to edit this. <3
> 
> A second chapter (smut) MAY happen. We'll see.


End file.
